MOCKING-BIRD FOOD. 83 



have boiling water poured over them, which will 

 soften them, and make them as palatable as if they 

 were still alive. A grasshopper thus prepared is a 

 Thanksgiving dinner to your bird. Zante currants, 

 the same as used for cake, washed clean, soaked 

 over night, and wiped dry, also make a dainty 

 morsel. 



Meal-Worms give a bird a great deal of life, and, 

 being the richest of food, should only be given 

 occasionally, say six to ten worms in a month. Every 

 owner of a soft-bill bird should raise a stock of 

 meal-worms. The process is very simple, and con- 

 sists in first taking an old box or jar, and placing 

 therein a quantity of bran or meal, — in fact, any fari- 

 naceous meal, — a few biscuit or part of a loaf of 

 bread, a few pieces of leather from an old, worn-out 

 boot or shoe, and some woollen rags ; place therein 

 a few meal-worms, — say fifty, — and then cover the 

 opening tightly with a thick cloth. If this cloth is 

 moistened with water occasionally, they will breed 

 faster ; and, if not disturbed, at the expiration of from 

 four to six months, you will have thousands. 



MocKiNG-BiRDS HAVE DISEASES. — Should your 

 bird's feathers stand loosely all over, and he still 

 seem healthful, give him cooling food only. Should 

 your bird be dumpish and stupid, a few spiders will 

 usually cure him. Should he refuse to eat, examine 

 his tongue, and you probably will find on it a horny 

 scale : this must be removed with great care, as, if 

 allowed to remain, your bird will surely die. To 

 remove this scale, hold the bird on his back ^rmly 



